What others think: Submarine with N.D.’s name is a blessing

West of the Red River, you could hardly miss the news of the USS North Dakota.

East of the Red River, you could hardly find the news of the USS Minnesota.

But we’ll chalk that up to an amusing difference in cultures between the two states, and go on to congratulate North Dakotans and Minnesotans alike on the fact that before long, U.S. Navy submarines bearing their states’ names will be plying the oceans and circumnavigating the globe.

“The Navy announced today (Tuesday) that the next two Virginia-class attack submarines will be named the USS Minnesota and the USS North Dakota,” a Defense Departments press release reported.

Both states had seen a long drought in ship names. Only one other vessel has carried the Flickertail State’s name; but that vessel, the battleship USS North Dakota, was decommissioned in 1923, some 85 years ago.

Two ships have been named Minnesota: a Civil War-era frigate and a Connecticut-class battleship. But although the latter USS Minnesota sailed around the world as part President Teddy Roosevelt’s “Great White Fleet,” it, too, had been decommissioned long since. The USS Minnesota was struck from the Naval Register in 1921, then dismantled and sold for scrap.

The real news is that at long last, the USS North Dakota and USS Minnesota again will be going to sea. And as the years pass, Minnesotans and North Dakotans alike are sure to treat their namesake ships with deep and heartfelt pride.

Tags: ussnorthdakota, northdakota, submarine